Managing conflicts of interest

When Zdeněk Bakala was flagged for a possible conflict of interest in 1999 for his dual role as CEO of Patria brokerage house and board member of publicly traded SPT Telecom, he said he of course had a conflict of interest. His point, which is still valid now, is that all active businesspeople on the small Czech market have conflicts of interest; what's important is how they manage them. Members of the British Chamber of Commerce, in a 72-63 vote, essentially concluded last night that Jo Weaver did not abuse any conflict of interest as both BritCham chair and PR adviser. The members removed the directors who had raised the issue and will now elect an entirely new board. Any other decision, it seems, would have meant the demise of the Chamber. Like it or not, such organizations are fragile entities that depend on the goodwill and hard work of a handful of people. Without such a clique - whatever its warts and failings - BritCham simply wouldn't exist. [Czech Republic New World Resources RPG Advisors]